Encinitas City Manager made way from Cuba

Gus, meanwhile, went through the public school system and enrolled part-time at Sacramento State University. He was married with three children and working full time then. It took him nine years to graduate, with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Vina then spent the next two years at the University of San Francisco, earning a master’s degree in public administration.

Government is one of the biggest industries in Sacramento, so it was natural Vina found work with public agencies. He first worked for the state in a variety of departments before going to work for the city of Stockton, eventually transferring to the city manager’s office. That’s where he said he formulated his goal to be a city manager.

He eventually took a job at the city of Sacramento and worked his way up to become the assistant city manager, then interim city manager in 2010. Vina resigned in March 2011 after five of nine City Council members voted to conduct a national search for the post, according to the Sacramento Bee. He applied for the Encinitas position vacated by the retiring Phil Cotton, and began July 1, earning $210,000 a year.

He said his goal for Encinitas is a transparent and interactive government, something that Vina said, somehow, could be related to the country he left as a child.

“I’ve got to think that at some level, that’s true,” Vina said. “We came to a country that’s open to accepting people, giving us opportunities, and so yeah I suppose there’s a nexus there that says, ‘I’m proud of this country and the systems that we have.’”